Bremerton School Board Votes to Keep All-Day Kindergarten

Free all-day kindergarten will continue in all Bremerton elementary schools for the 2010-11 school year, as long as the state continues to fund the program as it has in the past.

At a meeting Thursday, the Bremerton School Board unanimously endorsed continuing the popular program. Known as ADK, it has been a cornerstone of the district’s award-winning early childhood education program.

The decision makes the statement that “we value our children and we value their education from the very beginning,” board member Carolynn Perkins said. In addition, the statement by the board will help to reassure parents who are trying to make plans for their children’s education for the next school year, she said.

Before ADK was offered in Bremerton schools, just 55.9 percent of kindergarteners entered first grade ready to read; now that statistic is more than 94 percent, said Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, the district’s director for special programs. The free program has also helped bring 51 students into the district from neighboring areas. With each new student comes extra state funding, because schools are funded on a per-pupil basis. The extra 51 students meant $172,410 more in state funding for BSD.

The board made the decision despite concerns voiced by Citizens’ Finance Committee member Walt Connolly and Tina Mahaney, head of the Bremerton teachers’ union. Both said they support ADK, but worry that it jeopardizes other important programs, especially as state leaders struggle with the state budget and cuts to education.

Mahaney said she and her fellow teachers feel more strongly that the district should focus money on small class sizes in the lower grades. A pot of state money designated for that purpose (called “K-4 enhancement” in educational parlance) is at risk of being cut by state leaders. In Bremerton, that’s $745,000, or the jobs of 13 teachers.

Teachers think ADK is wonderful but, “it’s not what we all think is basic to our success,” she added.

Connolly said the strong educational foundation created for students by ADK may be undermined by larger classes in later grades. Further, he said, last year’s cuts in the teaching of P.E., music and library take away from a well-rounded education.

“It’s kind of like you’ve poured the cement and then you’ve walked away,” he said.

But board members countered that they would support all-day kindergarten as long as the state continued to provide funding for it at four of the district’s elementary schools. Armin Jahr, View Ridge, West Hills and Naval Avenue receive specific state funding for free ADK because more than 60 percent of students at those schools live in homes where income is below the poverty line. This money has not been in the list of cuts in state budget negotiations.

BSD offers free ADK at its other two elementary schools, Kitsap Lake and Crownhill, using about $225,000 provided by the local school-support levy.

Board member Scott Rahm said he was concerned about the “fuzzy” numbers coming out of Olympia in regards to the budget. But longtime board member Vicki Collins said information about the state budget is perpetually difficult. “It’s like nailing Jell-O to a wall,” she said. Collins said board members were elected to make tough decisions, including this one about ADK.